I had been looking forward to a family weekend and I was fully rewarded in my expectations because today was to be devoted to Barry's softball game. I had originally misunderstood, and I thought he was coaching the team (perhaps where daughters Ashlee and Brianne played), so I could understand Barry's slight eagerness at the match. He had not been there for one of the games, and his team had gotten into a row with the opposite team and was suspended for 6 weeks (pretty aggressive pre-teens, I thought), and during practice last Thursday the team was pretty rough. Barry was also getting a recognition for the 500 game played, so that was an added source of edginess.
Barry wanted to leave at a quarter past so we could be there at a quarter to. I figured I had nearly two hours to get out of his way and went for a walk in the neighborhood. It is very nice here, and every house is well-maintained and lovingly landscaped. I wandered to one of the city parks, went around the pond, and spotted a sign for the Woolworth supermarket. I love checking out supermarkets in the places I visit, curiously admiring the different food, spices, and general wares, and Woolworth happened to be in a small shopping center where Cope and Aldi were also located. Time went by, and as I was getting ready to head back I saw a nice package of chorizo and thought "let me make paella for the family tonight". So I went into shopping mode getting the spices, the prawns, the rice, and the veggies, and as I joined the queue to pay I realized with a start that it was already 11:15 and I had to get back pronto! At that moment the queue slowed to a snail pace, the cashier seemed intent on visiting with each customer for interminable chit chat, and when I finally got through I rushed to the house, where I arrived with five minutes to spare. Pant, pant, pant ... I made it at 11:40 am, only to find out that Mellissa was relaxed, gathering an umbrella and folding chairs, and Barry was still putting things in his sports bag. It struck me then that I had confused "a quarter past" with "a quarter to" (I had confusing memories of “Viertel nach” and “Viertel vor” in Germany). But all is well that ends well.
Off we went to the game, and then I realized that this was not the girl's team that Barry was coaching, but his very own team, the Red Sox, for which he plays third base. His mates were slowly gathering and they spanned the range of ages, from 14 to 60+, and there was much laughing and ribbing as they prepared to take the field. Mellissa met many of her own friends, and everyone greeted me with the kind curiosity we all have for a stranger. The Aussie accent was strong, and I had to ask many times for people to repeat themselves (for example, Mellissa told me that her first husband had been a "Please Man", and had to repeat herself several times at my request until Barry translated "Policeman".
Joshua, Mellissa's 20-year old son came in, and a few minutes later Brianne and her husband Scott, and Ashlee, also joined us. Brianne and Ashlee are Barry's "girls", two very attractive young women much different than the pre-teens I had imagined. The family had gathered to attend the recognition ceremony for the 500 games played by Barry in his long membership with the Red Sox (1988 to date). There was a short speech, a 500 patch of the Red Sox, warm embraces all around, and then it was time to play ball! They were playing under the drizzle, but nobody seemed to mind. Barry is a good hitter, and connected three solid hits over the 5-innings game. Much to his chagrin, however, he missed a ball that went through his legs while at third base, a fact that none of his mates would let him forget during the couple of hours of beer-and-fun that followed the game. The Red Sox play every Saturday, so the fact that it took Barry 40 years to play 500 games was also the subject of many jests and merriment.
After the game we went back to the house, together with Brianne and Scott (Ashlee and Josh had made previous plans), I cooked the paella, and we had a great time talking about Australia in general, the upcoming trip of Brianne and Scott to Bali, the rest of my trip this summer, and tomorrow's Aussie Football game in Fremantle, which we are all going to attend as a party. Ashlee is a hard core fan, so I was warned by her to be a noisy and avid fan (she told me the name of her team, but I am not sure I remember it right now).
I may or may not have mentioned that next summer I will spend in southern France, at the town of Bergerac, a factoid that attracted Barry's attention because today the Tour de France was passing 20 km from Bergerac. We watched a bit of the broadcast, and agreed that this is a beautiful part of France. So we now have the loose plan that, if next year's Tour de France follows a similar route, they will come visit me on those dates so we can stand by the roadside and cheer at the contestants (for about 30 seconds as they speed by).
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